The Untold Story of Annabeth Chase

Chapter 44

I banged on the door of the Aphrodite cabin, too angry to think anything through. No one answered at first, but I kept knocking. I knew someone was in there.

Eventually, the door opened to reveal a half-dressed and very cranky Drew. "What do you want, shrimp?" she hissed.

"I'm a year older than you," I reminded her.

"Yeah, but I'm way taller," she shot back. "Why are you here? I was about to take my makeup off. If you had come ten minutes later, you would have ended up at the bottom of the canoe lake."

"You can't threaten me, Drew," I said, crossing my arms. "Especially with what I know about you."

I saw confusion register on Drew's face before she put her angry mask back on. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"What are you doing to Will?" I asked angrily.

Drew gave me a tiny, smug smile. "That's none of your business, Owl Face."

"Well, Will's my friend and you're completely turning him against me and making him think he likes you," I retorted. "So, yeah, I think it is my business."

Drew shushed me and looked around furtively. "I hope for your sake that no one just heard you accusing me of that," she hissed

"Oh, come on, Drew," I said. "I don't know if you know what Will's been saying when you're not around, but you don't have as much power over him as you think you do. He can still think for himself, and he takes every opportunity to tell everyone that he doesn't like you. I know you're doing something to him, so what is it?"

Drew crossed her arms and swallowed in defeat. "It's charmspeak," she said matter-of-factly.

"What's charmspeak?" I asked, confused.

Drew smiled, looking pleased with herself. "I don't know if you knew this, but I'm pretty special. Charmspeak is an Aphrodite gift. It means I can talk anyone into doing whatever I want, whenever I want. It makes that amokinesis thing Mitchell used on you look like a cheap magic trick. I'm the only person in this entire camp who can do it, so I advise watching out for me."

I stared at her. All this time, Drew had a gift and no one had known? I shook off my surprise and took a step closer to her. "Listen, Drew. I don't know what you think you're doing, but you need to leave Will alone. Messing with someone's mind is dangerous. Trust me."

Drew let out a small, bubbly laugh. "Why would I stop? It makes life so much easier to have people do whatever I want. And then there's the bonus of getting a super cute boyfriend with no work at all. Not that I normally have to put any work into it," she added smugly. She leaned in close to my face and hissed, "I will not let you boss me around, Chase. Aphrodite gave me this gift for a reason, and I intend to make good use of it."

"Fine," I said, shrugging. "If you won't stop, I can't make you. But I think I know someone who can. What do you think Chiron would say to this?"

Drew took a step back in surprise.

"Oh, don't think I won't do it," I threatened. "Do you know what he said after he found out what Mitchell did to me? I'd hate to see how he reacted to this. I don't know what the punishment would be, but I can assure you it wouldn't be pretty."

Drew hesitated for a moment, and finally her shoulders sagged and she heaved a sigh. "Fine. I'll stop," she spat. "Will wasn't that much fun to charmspeak anyway. It was harder to persuade him than most boys. I have to make him look right into my eyes sometimes, and if we're around lots of boys it doesn't work at all. Maybe it's that thing about how boys are stronger in packs."